Plan for new Ontario financial services regulator unveiled

Plan for new Ontario financial services regulator unveiled

Finance Minister for Ontario Charles Sousa has revealed plans to set up a new provincial regulator for consolidated oversight of credit unions, mortgage brokers, provincial pension plans, and provincially registered insurers, according to a Financial Post report.

The move to create the Financial Services Regulatory Authority was a major recommendation made by an expert panel gathered by the Ontario government, who presented their final report in June.

Among the 44 recommendations in the report, according to a note from lawyers of Stikeman Elliott LLP, was the formation of a new regulator with a broader mandate than the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO). The new regulator should be bestowed with extensive monitoring and regulatory authority, including rule-making powers, and it should have separate divisions for market conduct and prudential regulation, the report said.

Further recommendations included more autonomy, a full-time chair, and sufficient resources to draw qualified members to accomplish its purpose. The Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario, the panel said, should be allowed to focus on its function of overseeing deposit insurance in the province.

Sousa cited outdated mandates for watchdogs such as the FSCO, which he said has resulted in “a lack of appropriate governance and accountability” and regulators being “constrained in carrying out their responsibilities.”